To further her plan for wold domination, Snooki — author, slipper-wearer, and cultural touchstone to millions — will soon be pimping a slew of licensed products, including jewelry (a NYE ball necklace!), clothing, and sunglasses. [NYPost]

Rihanna's topless cover of EsquireGQ was the mag's best-seller for the year. Who bombed on men's mag covers? Taylor Lautner. [WWD]

Hermès got the exemption from French regulators that it needed to enter into a covenant agreement that will prevent minority shareholders from selling their shares to Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy without approval. [WWD]

According to Levi's, who should know, adding "whiskering" to jeans uses an extra 10 litres of water per pair. [NYTimes]

Cosmopolitan is launching a Middle Eastern edition. We struggle to imagine what version of 10 Sexy NEW Ways To Sexily Blow Your Man's Sexual Mind (Having Sex) would get past the censors. [Media Decoder]

Despite the fact that holiday retail numbers were good overall, a lot of companies failed to capitalize. Gap experienced a 3% drop in same-store sales for the month of December, American Eagle Outfitters' fell by 11%, and Aéropostale's were down by 5%. [WWD]

EBay now has a fashion director in Lucky co-founder (and, before that, Sassy staffer) Andrea Linett. Linett wants to present fashion on eBay more like on the pages of a glossy ladymag. [NYTimes]

Tumblr — yeah, the blogging platform — not only has a fashion director, it is sending 20 of its bloggers to New York Fashion Week. Welcome to the circus, fellow blogged ones! Say hi and we'll tell you where the free booze is. [Fashionista]

Um, for some reason, Jon Caramanica hates Chucks. Who does that? He thinks they are worse than Crocs! And why would the Times think it a good idea to send someone who is so clearly and manifestly a footwear dunderhead to review a store that sells only...Chucks? [NYTimes]

Carhartt is launching a line of "classic American workwear" with designer Adam Kimmel. To be sold at Barneys to start with, it'll retail for $70-$600. [WWD]

Is Sophie Théallet doing a capsule collection for Nine West? This post indicated that yes, Théallet is — but now it's been disappeared. [Fashionologie]

The most accurate of the Guardian's list of ten "new" fashion trends for 2011: "10. Token plus-model casting at the autumn/winter shows. This will guarantee precious picture coverage in newspapers for the savvy designer in question. He/she will not have designed these clothes for plus-size people, mind. Don't be silly." [Guardian]

Liposuction is so 2009: Meet cryolipolysis. Freeze your fat cells until they die, and are metabolized by your liver and lymphatic system! [W]

Sears and Urban Outfitters are said to be considering buying J. Crew. J. Crew wants to go private and has a buyer in a private equity firm, but has until January 15 for other companies to best that proposed deal. [Bloomberg]

Philip Lim is showing his men's collection in Paris for the season. [WWD]

Vera Wang, on uniforms: "Mine is a legging — it used to be a jean when I was younger — but a legging and a t-shirt. A different t-shirt, a boy's tank, but nonetheless, there's a uniform. And then what I do on top becomes the fashion part, whether I wear knee-highs or hosiery. Or it could be a crazy belt. I also have an incredible collection of jackets and outerwear and tunics. These are the things that bring the fashion part to my uniform. But there is a uniform nonetheless." [Vera Unveiled]

Another perspective on leggings: "[L]eggings are another way of fucking the patriarchy, because by wearing leggings, we're highlighting yet another part of our body that/which we're taught should look a certain way before we highlight it. Leggings are your way of saying 'this is what my legs look like DEAL WITH IT.' The cutest girl in leggings isn't the skinniest one or the tallest one or the one who goes to the gym the most, it's the one with the smile on her face and the world in her heart." [Autostraddle]